Non-Reality Check: What it will take for the Yankees to win the 2021 world championship

For the record, when I ruminate upon the sorry, half-season state of the Yankees, I favor a sell-off. If we could magically turn a few doomsday contracts into a middling prospect or two, the franchise might restore itself in two years. 

But in its current stupor, the Yankee front office - in a sell-off - would wrangle meager returns for the players atop our personal vendetta lists.  That leaves "Wild Card" Cashman trading prospects for Ponsons, and we all know how that Edward Wood movie ends. We're stuck in Plan Nine from Outer Tampa, and if that kid Boston just drafted evolves into a superstar... ugh.

How did we let things fall apart so badly? Weren't we MLB's gold standard? How did we become such a slobbering, sad franchise, with a veritable absentee owner? How did - wait - ENOUGH! 

Let's ponder what it will take to salvage 2021.  Here is how the Yankee championship happens: 

1. Gerrit Cole becomes Koufax. Once and for all, his masterpiece in Houston eliminates any charges of ball-doctoring. Instead of taking the night off when he pitches, the Yankees rally behind him. He wins 25 games and the Cy Young. (Currently, he is 9-4. How about 25-5?)

2. Aroldis Chapman finds his mojo. No more re-enactments of The Mad Russian. A  strange thing happened in Houston: We glimpsed the world without El Chapo, and it terrified us. Turns out, Mean Chad Green is not the answer. And Zack Brittle remains - well - what body part will go next? I donno what happened to Chappy, but it seems mental, and hopefully, he'll find a shrink. If he doesn't, he's first in line to be traded. 

3. Somehow, we find a serviceable LH outfielder. Maybe SS Hoy Jun Park (.342 at Scranton) takes over. Tim Locastro (a righty) is not the answer (though he can platoon with Brett Gardner, who looks done in CF.) Somewhere out there, they find a LH LF. Maybe a 28-year-old lost in some NL farm system, a new version of Mike Tauchman?

4. Gary Sanchez keeps hitting. Is his new stance a permanent improvement? Or two weeks from now, will he be lunging at pitches in the dirt? Dunno. But with Gary hitting, the batting order becomes far more potent. (And if we get bombed out by Boston this month, a newly restored Sanchez would be a trade chip.) 

5. Some pitcher ascends from Scranton. Remember Deivi Garcia? He can't throw strikes. Remember Clarke Schmidt? He's - well - he's vanished. Remember "The Gas Station," the self-nicknamed coaching operation that was raising a generation of young Yankee arms? These days, what a joke. We have seen - well - Nestor Octavio-Cortez! Well, in this madcap scenario, somebody rises.  

6. Luis Severino and Cory Kluber return. These days, I don't know why anybody should have faith in Setback Sevy - he's a tweak, waiting to happen. But in our dream world, he returns to pitch as he did in - yeesh - 2016. Also, Cory Kluber comes back in September, finds his form and becomes our No. 3 starter. I don't know which is more likely. We need both.

7. Finally, injuries decimate Boston and Tampa. Juju gods, it's up to you. I'm not asking for bones to break. Thinking hamstrings. We need help. Otherwise, they own us. 

There you have it. See you all in the Canyon of Heroes.